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Our Weekend in Atlanta at Whipstitch was so overwhelmingly amazing; I have had trouble finding the words to describe the experience.  Fortunately, Rae always seems to have the right words (and gorgeous photos).  Read her tale of the weekend here.

Let me start by telling you that Deborah is a real community leader, and Whipstitch is truly an anchor in the crafty community. I told my sister (who lives in the greater Atlanta area) that I’d be moving there.  She was so excited until she realized I meant I wanted to move right there, into Whipstitch.  What a dreamy place, full of inspiration, fabric love (obsession?) and crafty community.

My sweet sissy picked us up at the airport, and drove hours to get us to the WRONG PLACE, thanks to me.  Who knew typing “renaissance peachtree” would lead us to an assisted living center?  I’ll never forget Rae grabbing my elbow and whispering “This is not the place” as we backed out of the lobby.  By the time we made it to the Renaissance Hotel on Peachtree, Deborah was already waiting for us.  We grabbed our bags, bid Ella goodbye (who stayed for the first time overnight without me!) and I munched on the delicious snacks my sister made for our hotel room as Rae checked us in, and I started to finally laugh with Deborah over my wacky detour.

Friday night was dreamy.  Beautiful food, beautiful fabrics, and beautiful people were out in full force to greet Rae and me.  Thanks to Darcy and Atlanta Modern Sewing, for coordinating this gorgeous spread:

What an honor and pleasure it was to connect with so many wonderful crafters…

Our Saturday morning workshop was great fun. All the practicing and content culling Rae and I did paid dividends in a relaxed, enjoyable chat about techniques and tips for making handmade garments that really are worth the time and effort taken to create them.

The Saturday afternoon workshop was packed, but with students and content! (…maybe a little hectic at times?) In hindsight, there are things we’d probably do differently (wouldn’t everyone?), but the students were FABULOUS, and every time I see a new creation emailed to me, or on a blog, or in the Sewing for Boys Flickr group, I’m reminded how much more fun it is to make things together.  It was a whirlwind weekend, packed from start to finish with activity and crafty goodness…. then…..

MORE activity.  Sara (my sister) and Ella and Sophia and Chelsea came to pick me up from the hotel after I bid Rae adieu as she rushed back to be with Elliott on his birthday.  Ella and Sophia are like soul sisters.  Apparently, they neverstoptalking because they neverrunoutofthingstotalkabout in a typical 5 year old fashion.  I just know next Summer, Chelsea will be able to keep up with the,. but for this year, it was the Ella and Sophia show, all the way.  She didn’t even miss me while I was away with Rae.

As we had “Georgia Aquarium” on our must-see (again) list, we stayed another night in the City.  Since the weather had been so lovely, I booked us a night at the Georgian Terrace so the kids could “swim” in their rooftop pool.  Lucky us, the weather turned to cold and windy for the Sunday we were there.  Of course the girls went in anyway:

Brrrrr… no thanks.

The aquarium was lovely, and the girls (and mommies) were completely mesmerized by the Dolphin Show.  Even after 6 hours there, we could have stayed longer if the kids weren’t hungry.  There’s so much to see!

Even though Ella and I came back with horrendous allergies, and I didn’t get the chance to meet up with Mary, and I feel like I never get enough time with Rashida, we had a wonderful time, and I cannot wait to go back (when the pollen count is down)!